STORYTIME: The Turkey That Came for Thanksgiving Dinner -- Part 1

Mary and her younger brother Scott were very excited about Thanksgiving Day. Their grandparents were coming over for dinner and Mom was preparing a big feast. They were helping out with decorations, drawing turkeys and pilgrims to set around the living room. Dad was helping set the big table and a scent of delicious food surrounded the house.

Just as Mary and Scott were hanging a paper turkey near the front door they heard a knock. "It must be Grandma and Grandpa!", shouted Scott as he ran to open the door with Mary right behind him. What was their surprise to find, not their dear grandparents, but a big, fat turkey!

It was standing at the door with a funny smile on his face and a suitcase in one wing. He was wearing a hat and a scarf. As Mary´s and Scott´s eyes popped wide open in disbelief, the turkey spoke in a deep, but friendly voice: "Hellooooo! Here I am! May I come in?"

(Find out more about Mary, Scott and the turkey tomorrow for part 2 of Storytime)

DAILY RECIPE: Mashed Potato Steak

1 cup mashed potatoes, freshly made or from flakes
1 lb. steak medallions
Chives
Garlic salt and pepper
Oil
1 cup beef stock

Season steak with garlic salt and pepper. Brown in oil on each side. Place onto baking pan. Pour beef stock all around. Using an ice cream server, place a scoop on top of each steak medallion. Garnish with chives. Bake at 350°F until tender and potatoes are browned.

TIP OF THE DAY

Start making a toy "clean-up" before Christmas arrives. You can give them to goodwill making other children happy, plus you´ll have toy box space for the incoming gifts that are sure to arrive.

ART ACTIVITY: Turkey Craft

You will need:

Brown construction paper

Yellow construction paper

Red, yellow, orange and green craft feathers

Glue

Scissors

Black marker

Carefully trace your child´s hand on the brown construction paper. Make sure their fingers are spread apart. Cut out. Draw an eye on the thumb and glue a small yellow construction paper triangle next to it for a beak. Glue feathers on all other fingers. Cut out yellow legs for the turkey and glue at the bottom. Use as place cards for Thanksgiving dinner, as a Thanksgiving Day card for grandparents or just as holiday fun craft.

DAILY RECIPE: Corn Flakes Fish

6 fish filets (washed)
2 cups corn flakes
butter
two cloves garlic
salt

Grease a baking pan with butter. Place fish filets and sprinkle with salt. Finely chop garlic and place evenly among fish. Add a teaspoon of butter on each filet. Lightly crush corn flakes and pour on top of fish. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes at 350°F. Serve with white rice or buttered pasta.

TIP OF THE DAY

If your baby likes to take everything out of your purse, which aside from being dangerous is sometimes embarassing, try this: Drop in various items in an old purse. For example, a small tupperware, a brochure, a scarf, old pictures, a glove, the lid of a jar. Just make sure nothing represents a choking hazard. When your child starts reaching for your purse, hand him/her the "play purse" and let them enjoy the freedom of taking everything out!

ARTICLE: Baby Einstein Videos for Children

Lately, many of us heard on the news about new reports on keeping young children and babies from watching tv until the age of two or older. Later on, there was an announcement on how you could get your money back on purchased Baby Einstein videos. This left me with a thought: Are they really that bad for your children? This is what I concluded, maybe some of you will disagree: It is clear that TV is not good for babies. Many people believe it is one of the causes of increased cases of autism. If you sit your child in front of the television for hours and hours, it´s not ok, no matter how old, just as they shouldn´t play video games for long periods of time. But, if you watch a Baby Einstein video, TOGETHER, and clap to the music or comment on the colors, I really do not see anything wrong with that. In fact, I believe it is a great source of sense awareness for your child. Now, this is not what you will be doing at all hours of every day of course. And it IS best to keep your one-year-old from the TV. But if your child is 2 and is in a household where the TV is on for the morning news, your favorite sitcom and the Sunday game, you might as well introduce them to the TV with these videos that are much simpler for them than today´s cartoons and kids´ shows. So, my advice, use these videos that introduce them to classical music and art, as a first TV show for older toddlers with you commenting by their side.

DAILY RECIPE: Spinach Manicotti

10 Manicotti pasta (big, thick macaronni)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 bag pre-washed spinach
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt
crushed pepper
grated parmesan cheese
grated mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta for 5 mintues. Meanwhile, finely chop onion and garlic. Sautée in olive oil. Add spinach and cook until tender. Blend ricotta cheese and spinach mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add parmesan cheese and blend again. Carefully fill manicotti pasta. Arrange in a baking pan and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Bake in 350°F oven for about half an hour.

TIP OF THE DAY

Wipe food stains off children´s clothing with a baby wipe if you do not have a pre-treater on hand. It works quite well.

ACTIVITY: Thanksgiving Thankful Box

With Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks get an early start for this holiday celebration. Cover an old shoe box with orange paper and decorate with fall or Thanksgiving motives (brown leaves, turkeys, pilgrims, acorns). You can make them by tracing cookie cutter shapes on brown cardboard and cutting them out. Once your box is decorated (your children can help you out), write Thankful Box on it. Cut a slit on top as if it were a mailbox. Place it in the kitchen or family room or any place in your house your family passes through every day. Set a cup with crayons, markers and pencils next to it, together with a pack of index cards. Tell your family that for the next couple of weeks whenever they can think of something they´re thankful for, they should write it down on an index card and place it in the Thankful Box. Help out younger family members by encouraging them to draw something they give thanks for. Ask them what it is and write it down on the back of the card. Just before Thanksgiving dinner, open up the box and read all the things your family is thankful for. (Be sure to have a box of kleenex by your side -- you´ll be amazed at how profound your children´s thoughts can be ).